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today my mother stretched out her arms to me.

she stretched them out and she called me to her

Ven mi chiquita hermosa

she called me to her, like all those years ago…

 

me llamo a ella como cuando tenía cinco, cuando llegue a la casa del primer día de escuela

me llamo como cuando tenía 8, when I scraped my knee outside playing

the way she did when I was 14, cuando palabras de los pasillos apuñalaban mi corazón

she no longer called to me at 16.

 

she no longer called cuando lloraba sobre las desgracias del amor.

Mami te estoy hablando

ya no llamaba cuando errores se cometían y necesitaba refugio.

Mom you’re not listening

she didn’t call cuando le dije de quien dejaba entrar

Mama porque me hablas asi

& the ones I didn’t but who found a way

¡Mama porque no contestas!

her warm embrace was replaced by a cold shoulder and an uninterested gaze.

¡Eres mi mama! ¿Porque no te importo?

 

but today my mother stretched her arms out to me again,

and she called me to her once again

Ven mi chiquita hermosa

and the waves in me settled,

and the clouds in me shifted,

and the warmth of her embrace began to sew las Heridas de mi Madre shut.

giulianna alcantarpalai

Las Heridas de mi Madre

author bio

Giulianna Alcantarapalai is a first-gen student living in El Paso. She is currently majoring in Political Science with a minor in Creative Writing at UTEP. She loves to travel, write, read, and collect vinyl. She plans on attending law school and hopes to become a published author one day.

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